1945: Kim Jong-il with his father, Kim Il-sung, and his mother, Kim Jong-suk. Soviet records show he was born in the village of Vyatskoye, near Khabarovsk, in 1941, but official Korean biographies state that he was born in a secret military camp in north Korea on February 16 1942

Undated: A painting hung in North Korea's SEK studios shows Kim on his father's horse, followed by his mother. Kim was three years old when the second world war ended and Korea regained its independence. The family moved to Pyongyang in the same year

Undated: After graduating in 1964, Kim Jong-il began his ascension through the ranks of the ruling Korean Workers' party. He was quickly appointed instructor and section chief to the party's central committee, and in 1970 was promoted to its vice-director

Pyongyang, North Korea,2007: Performers create the shape of the map of Korean peninsula, during a scene depicting reunification of the two Koreas at the Arirang Grand Mass gymnastics and Artistic performance at the May day stadium